Hi, I'm looking at buying an analogue polyphonic synth and I have a budget of around £1300. So far I am considering the Dave Smith Prophet Rev 2 and the korg prologue. I preferred the Prophets features/layout (even though they're pretty similar) but it lacked the bass the Korg had. I have considered vintage synths but I'm concerned with reliability, but I am open to any suggestions.

i find its usually better to focus on overall tone than features. if the prophet is lacking in bass frequencies and you need them, the prologue sounds like a better choice for you, despite the fact that there may be fewer options.as for vintage, we meticulously service the items we sell here and it results in instruments that are generally much more reliable than others on the market (and are priced accordingly), but we may have a few things within your budget - please shoot us an email through our website if we can help.mini

It's absolutely true that you have to get the overall tone of the instrument. Without that, you'll never gel with it. But, the features are important too, as they dictate what sounds you can squeeze out of it.

I have a DSI Rev2. It's absolutely one of the best synths I've ever got my hands on. The interface is easy to use, with almost a button for everything, and with a well-thought-out menu system that is only 1 level deep. Where it beats many other synths, is the number of modulation options. The basic modulation matrix is 8 x 53 (8 sources, 53 destinations), so that means you can route stuff like aftertouch, velocity, pitch etc. to pretty much any parameter you can tweak with a knob. In addition, you have 4 LFOs, a step/gate sequencer, and an auxiliary envelope which can also modulate stuff.

Is it a bass synth? In my experience, no. It can do them well enough, but you may be better off using a suitable monosynth. That's not to say it doesn't have bass presence - it certainly does. I've got brass pads that'll flap trousers ankles.

If this is your first synth, I'd suggest looking at what bases you want that synth to cover. For £1300, you might be able to get two synths - one for pads/arps/leads, and one for bass. Just food for thought.

It's absolutely true that you have to get the overall tone of the instrument. Without that, you'll never gel with it. But, the features are important too, as they dictate what sounds you can squeeze out of it.

I have a DSI Rev2. It's absolutely one of the best synths I've ever got my hands on. The interface is easy to use, with almost a button for everything, and with a well-thought-out menu system that is only 1 level deep. Where it beats many other synths, is the number of modulation options. The basic modulation matrix is 8 x 53 (8 sources, 53 destinations), so that means you can route stuff like aftertouch, velocity, pitch etc. to pretty much any parameter you can tweak with a knob. In addition, you have 4 LFOs, a step/gate sequencer, and an auxiliary envelope which can also modulate stuff.

Is it a bass synth? In my experience, no. It can do them well enough, but you may be better off using a suitable monosynth. That's not to say it doesn't have bass presence - it certainly does. I've got brass pads that'll flap trousers ankles.

If this is your first synth, I'd suggest looking at what bases you want that synth to cover. For £1300, you might be able to get two synths - one for pads/arps/leads, and one for bass. Just food for thought.

Cheers

I have dozens of synths - including a Prophet 10 and T8 - and have no intention of buying another hard ware synth for a very long time - and utterly dismissed the Rev2 when it came out. But - your post here has made me want to buy one

I can't believe it. I thought I was immune from posts and reviews on synths - but - having read over your post here and then checked up it's specs - I bloody well would love to own one!

Don't know if you're the sales person of the year, or it's just a really good synth - but I'm going to have to fight off the temptation on this one. I especially love the idea of such a subtractive synth offering a complex modulation matrix and including aftertouch. Meanwhile - it's using DCOs, so can go squarely into Juno106 and JX8P territory (I own and love the Juno 106 too and love it). Then there's the ability to apply PWM to all it's waveshapes - including it's sawtooth! Wow! Overall - a far more interesting synth that I imagined!

I have a Prophet 8 and love the sound. The Rev2 should have the same characteristics as the 8, except more features and power. You can't go wrong with a Rev2 from Dave Smith. It can create pretty much any analog sound you are after.

Another synth to possibly check out is the Behringer Deepmind. I've never played one, but it looks like a very capable analog synth for those on a tight budget. You could get that along with a nice mono synth, like a Novation Bass Station II (or a Behringer ModelD) within your budget.

ScottMG wrote:Another synth to possibly check out is the Behringer Deepmind.

I've played a Deepmind a bit. It's a nice synth, but it doesn't have anything like the modulation capabilities of the Rev2. I also found the menu system a bit more involved in the DM. Also, Rev2 had a clearer. Which is why people pay more for a Rev2...